Top Summer Songs of the ’80s

The Y! Music Playlist Blog

Robert of the RadishApril 14, 2013

This is a continuation of our top 10 summer song playlists by decade. To compile each list, I looked at songs that reached the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the months of June, July and August for each year of the decade. From the collection of songs that reached #1 each summer, I selected the song that spent the most weeks on the chart in the top position. In the case of a tie (which was rare), I chose randomly from the songs that tied. The end result is a 10 song playlist of the top summer hits of the decade, one song from each year, listed in chronological order.

MTV played a huge part in the top summer songs of the 1980s. The cable station debuted on August 1, 1981 and many of the top summer songs of this decade were featured heavily by the Music Television Network. "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes, "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor, "Every Breath You Take" by The Police, "When Doves Cry" by Prince, "Shout" by Tears For Fears", and the remaining top summer hits of the 80s were all on heavy rotation at MTV.

If you grew up during the 80s you can probably still see the videos in your head every time you hear one of these songs.

What were your favorite summer songs of the 1980s?

Top Summer Songs of the 80s

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